I consider myself a good cook, ya know? I'm ok. But I have an arch nemesis of the culinary world. RICE. Give me a recipe and I can make anything ... but ask me to make rice and I shudder with disdain. So a close friend, and amazing cook herself, bought me a rice cooker. Seemed simple enough: plug it in, fill it with rice and water ... boom. It does the work for you.
I managed to burn it
and next time, added too much water
and occasionally just forgot to turn it on at all.
It wasn't until I tried a recipe she had cut out from a magazine for jambalaya that the heavens parted and rice was served in our house again. And not just rice that wasn't burned or soggy. Amazing, serve it to your in-laws, kind of rice. The original source is long since lost, and even a Google search turned up nothing similar, but over the last 5 years that I have been regularly cooking this, it's gone through many variations. The following is my favorite variation of amazing.
I managed to burn it
and next time, added too much water
and occasionally just forgot to turn it on at all.
It wasn't until I tried a recipe she had cut out from a magazine for jambalaya that the heavens parted and rice was served in our house again. And not just rice that wasn't burned or soggy. Amazing, serve it to your in-laws, kind of rice. The original source is long since lost, and even a Google search turned up nothing similar, but over the last 5 years that I have been regularly cooking this, it's gone through many variations. The following is my favorite variation of amazing.
Bayou Jambalaya in the Rice Cooker
Recipe
Ingredients
5 T Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed oil (can be purchased at Wildtree's website) or olive oil
1 cup chopped, boneless chicken thighs (or chicken breast, which I used this time)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup long-grain rice
1 t cayenne
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (about 2 regular sized cans)
1 can Rotel, with juice (or fresh, chopped tomatoes, which I used this time + 2 T water)
salt and pepper to taste
1 small package imitation crab meat (or about 10 medium shrimp, which I used this time)
1/4 cup chopped green onions, optional
Frank's RedHot to taste, optional
1 cup chopped, boneless chicken thighs (or chicken breast, which I used this time)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup long-grain rice
1 t cayenne
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (about 2 regular sized cans)
1 can Rotel, with juice (or fresh, chopped tomatoes, which I used this time + 2 T water)
salt and pepper to taste
1 small package imitation crab meat (or about 10 medium shrimp, which I used this time)
1/4 cup chopped green onions, optional
Frank's RedHot to taste, optional
Directions
- Add 2 T oil to skillet and cook dark meat chicken on medium heat until no longer pink in the center, 7 - 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add remaining 3T oil to rice cooker and set cooker to "Cook" temperature. Add onion, garlic, and green bell pepper and saute in rice cooker for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add rice and stir to coat.
4. Add remaining ingredients, including cooked chicken but excluding green onions. Stir.
5. Cover with lid and let cook for the remaining "cook" time until rice cooker turns to "warm" setting.
6. Top with green onions and serve with Frank's RedHot, optional.
If you used fresh tomatoes instead of Rotel, this dish will be quite mild and suitable for toddler's sensitive taste buds. If everyone likes it HOT, ramp it up to a HOT Rotel or more cayenne or Frank's directly in the pot.
If you used fresh tomatoes instead of Rotel, this dish will be quite mild and suitable for toddler's sensitive taste buds. If everyone likes it HOT, ramp it up to a HOT Rotel or more cayenne or Frank's directly in the pot.
Gigi likes hers lukewarm, at best.
I like it just as hot as I can handle, which in turn, isn't nearly hot enough for my husband.
How much heat do you like in your jambalaya? Let me know in the comments below!
I like it just as hot as I can handle, which in turn, isn't nearly hot enough for my husband.
How much heat do you like in your jambalaya? Let me know in the comments below!